By DANICA KIRKA Associated Press April 8, 2022, 5:15 p.m. • 2 minutes reading Share to Facebook Share to Twitter Email this article LONDON (Reuters) – A British judge on Friday sentenced a sex rapist to at least 36 years in prison for killing Sabina Nessa, an elementary school teacher who was killed while walking to meet a friend in London. Koci Selamaj, from Eastbourne on the south coast of England, pleaded guilty to carrying out the premeditated attack on 17 September. CCTV footage captured the moment a garage worker attacked Nessa from behind and hit her on the head 34 times with a 2-foot-long metal traffic triangle. Nessa, 28, was found dead in a park in Kidbrook, south-east London. Her murder – as she walked through a park just minutes from her home – sparked concerns that women were not safe on the streets of the British capital. Hundreds of people held vigils with candles in her memory shortly after her death, demanding an end to violence against women. Nessa’s death came six months after the abduction, rape and murder of 33-year-old Sarah Everard in south London by an acting police officer. The Everard case shocked the country and also saw people take to the streets to denounce violence against women. “It is a striking feature of the accused’s case that, clearly intentionally, it does not imply that he had any remorse for what he did to Sabina Nessa,” said Judge Nigel Sweeney. Selamai chose not to attend the conviction for the accidental attack. Addressing Selamaj, Nessa’s parents, Abdur Rouf and Azibun Nessa, said in a statement: “You had no right to take her away from us in such a harsh way.” “The moment the policeman came to our house and told us that she was found dead, our world fell apart,” her parents said. “How could you do such a thing to an innocent girl who was passing by, doing her job.” “You are not human, you are an animal.”
